Collective Nouns for People

List of Collective Nouns for People & Professions

This list of collective nouns for people (also called collective terms and terms of venery) can never be definitive but it’s fun. A “collective noun” refers to “plural-only” words, e.g. people for person. The first list of collective nouns was published in “The Book of St Albans” circa 1500 and it wasn’t definitive – it was based on folklore, humor and the whim of the publisher and it’s the same today! Here’s an impressive list of collective nouns.

ADDucation Tips: Click column headings with arrows to sort collective nouns for people. Click the + icon to show any hidden columns. Set your browser to full screen and zoom out to show as many columns as possible. Start typing in the Filter table box to find anything inside the table collective nouns for people and groups of humans.

Human Group

Singular

Collective Nouns for People

Collective term

Explanation & Etymology

Artists

Artist

a troupe of artists

troupe

From French “troupe’ meaning “company’ or “troop” referring to a band of artists including actors, performers, dancers and so on.

Crooks

Crook

a bunch of crooks

bunch

A crook is a bent “crooked” hook. Originally used to describe criminal activity it’s now commonly applied to politicians, corporations and governments worldwide.

Directors

Director

a board of directors

board

The board is the “table where council is held” by the “directors” (guides) from French “directeur” and earlier Latin “dirigere”.

Employees

Employee

a staff of employees

staff

Commonly used for office and hospital staff, possibly derived from a staff (baton) used as a badge of office or authority or using a staff as a support.

Experts

Expert

a panel of experts

panel

From French “panel” and earlier Latin “pannellus” (piece of cloth) which became legalese term for “piece of parchment listing jurors” leading to the general sense of people called on to discuss, advise and judge.

Guests

Guest

a cohort of guests

cohort

Used in tourism reports, business reports and in legal documents.

Jurors

Jury

a damning of jurors

damning

The right to a trial by jury was included in the Magna Carta signed by King John in 1215. A plaintiff found guilty was a “damning” verdict, from the Latin word “damnāre” to condemn which left the plaintiff liable to eternal damnation.

Listeners

Listener

an audience of listeners

audience

Originally a gathering of people within hearing range. Derived from French “audience” (the action of hearing) and earlier Latin “audentia” (a hearing, listening) and has since been extended to include book readers, radio and TV show audiences.

Musicians

Musician

a band of musicians

band

Bands of cloth are worn as a mark of identification by organized groups, typically solders. Groups of musicians were originally attached to army regiments.

Nuns

Nun

a superfluity of nuns

superfluity

English nunneries were overcrowded as nobles offloaded their daughters past marriageable age and there was pressure for church reform. During the Protestant reformation Henry VIII ordered the closure of convents and monasteries.

Painters

Painter

a misbelief of painters

misbelief

Used specifically to describe portrait painters who had to strike a balance between flattering their patrons and painting a realistic portrait – which could easily be extended to a misbelief of Photoshop users today! It was the artists ability to create an illusion of beauty which led to misbelief in those viewing the portrait.

Pardoners

Priest or Friar

a lying of pardoners

lying

“Pardoners” claimed to cleanse people of their sins offering absolution for a fee. Fraudsters led to charges of “lying pardoners” in City of London records.

Presumably from sherrifs, posse can be applied to any group of people with a common occupation or characteristic.

Policemen

Policeman

a squad of police officers

squad

Squad is also commonly applied to soldiers

Professors

Professor

in the professoriate

professoriate

Collective term for a group of academic professors, typically in universities.

Sailors

Sailor

a crew of sailors

sailors

From French “crue” (group of soldiers) through “gang of men on a warship” to “people acting or working together” not just on warships.

Sheriffs

Sherrif

a posse of sheriffs

posse

From the wild west days “a body of men summoned by a sheriff to enforce the law”.

Singers

Singer

a choir of singers

choir

From Latin “choir” (band of singers).

Soldiers

Soldier

an army of soldiers

army

From French “armée” (armed troop) and earlier Latin “armata” (armed force) originally used for sea and land expeditons the term is now applies specifically to land forces.

Soldiers

Soldier

a regiment of soldiers

regiment

Units organized systematically by being “regimented’ from the old French “regiment” (government, rule) and earlier Latin “regimentum” and “regere (to rule).

Soldiers

Soldier

a platoon of soldiers

platoon

One of many collective terms applied to servicemen and servicewomen including company, division, unit etc. Platoon is from the French “peloton”, a small ball.

Soldiers

Soldier

a squad of soldiers

squad

A squad is a also a popular collective term for policemen.

Soldiers

Soldier

a troop of soldiers

troop

Also used in the scouting movement, e.g. a scout troop. From the French troupe or Germanic/Frankish origin “thorp” for an assembly or gathering.

Students

Student

a cohort of students

cohort

“Student cohort” is commonly used in educational circles when referring to a year group. See also a “class” of students.

Pupils

Pupil

a class of pupils

class

Groups of students are often described as pupils and could also be described as a cohort of pupils.

Tapsters

Tapster

a promise of tapsters

promise

A “tapster” is an outdated term for a barman/barmaid (who looks after the “taps”) and their promise with a nod, eye contact or other acknowledgement that you’re next to be served – which may well turn out to be a false promise! Shakespeare’s Celia and Rosalind in As You Like It reflect on this “… the oath of a lover is no stronger than the word of a tapster.”

Teachers

Teacher

a faculty of teachers

faculty

Educational institutions are often divided into faculties and teachers are faculty members.

Who Decides Collective Nouns for People?

There’s no official collective nouns committee, or authority, which approves new collective nouns. There’s nothing to stop you, us, or anyone else, coming up with new collective nouns and seeing if they gain popularity in lists of collective nouns.

Thanks Phil, it seems there’s no consensus about the collective noun for architects. With references to “a condescension of architects”, an argument of architects”, pretension, conceit, jealousy, arrogance, overhead and my favourite “an impasse of architects”. Take your pick.

Thanks for your comment. We’ve added “a class of scholars” to the main list. Research indicates “a bevy of ladies” has been used frequently. We liked a reference to “a scoop of journalists” and found a bunch of references to “bench of judges” and “sentence of judges” so take your pick. There’s “a suite of furniture” and our Collective nouns for animals list includes collective nouns for pigs variations on “a drift of pigs” and “a drove of pigs”.

Hi Alya, good questions, the most popular collective terms seem to be “a squad of policemen” or maybe “a posse of policemen, but this seems more directly related to Sheriffs in the wild west. Like students, teachers can also be part of a cohort but more commonly teachers are members of a faculty. We’ve updated the list, thanks for your input.

Hi Roy, thanks for your comment. There are thousands of google search results for “cohort of guests” and “cohort of visitors” so they’re in common useage and I’ve added them to the list. “Cohort” is commonly used to describe any group of people which share common characteristics so it is likely to be used as a collective noun for other groups of people.

Hi Liza, you could certainly use a “school of pupils” but I can’t find any obvious reference to its use as a collective term. Maybe a “cohort of pupils” would be better – there are a few references for that. “A cohort of students” is widely used – I will add that to the list